Many of the country's legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of, and precedents set by, the United Kingdom's Westminster Parliament; however, Barbados has evolved variations.
In no Barbadian election has a single party obtained less than an absolute majority in the House of Assembly (a situation which would have entailed the formation of a minority or coalition government).
If the Assembly passes a motion of no confidence in the government, the prime minister and the rest of Cabinet are expected either to resign their offices or to ask for Parliament to be dissolved so that a general election can be held.
The exception is if the prime minister or the government declared that they consider a given bill to be a matter of confidence (hence how backbenchers are often held to strict party voting).
Barbados' Parliament consists of the President and a bicameral legislature: an elected House of Assembly and an appointed Senate.
In practice, legislative power rests with the party that has the majority of seats in the House of Assembly, which is elected for a period not to exceed five years.
Despite initial historical disparity (the BLP was once conservative and the DLP liberal), their modern incarnations are all moderate and largely have no major ideological differences.
Electoral contests and political disputes often have personal overtones and voter sway tends to be based on tradition.
The BLP won all 30 seats in the Parliament, leaving the DLP for the first time since its creation as an Extra-Parliamentary party, and Mia Mottley becoming the first female prime minister of Barbados.
Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister after consultation with the leader of the opposition.